


If the roles were reversed

by Anonymous



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (it will make sense trust me), Body Swap, Dream Team SMP Roleplay (Video Blogging RPF), Exile Arc on Dream Team SMP Canon Divergence (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Time Travel, dream xd?, foolish?, god is canon, i mean sure, master oogway??, thats a real tag okay, the answer is yes, the blood god?, you decide who they are though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “So yeah, if the roles were reversed, you probably wouldn’t exile me, because I would have actually listened! And done what you said!”Tubbo believes his best friend is dead. Tommy is trapped, either in the prison with Dream's torment, or in the afterlife with Wilbur's. They both wish they could go back in time and fix things, but they weren't expecting god to listen.They also weren't expecting the terms of the wish they were granted.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 13
Kudos: 55
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So this is probably going to be a weird concept but the whole discussion Tommy and Tubbo had pre-exile about what would have happened if they had been in each other's roles has always stuck with me, and now that gods and time travel are canon and the universe has become a lot more fantasy, this idea came to me, and I decided to write it. I think it'll be interesting.

Tubbo sat at Tommy’s memorial, crying.

Tommy sat in the corner of the prison cell, staring at Dream’s sleeping form.

Neither knew what the other was doing (in Tubbo’s case, he didn’t even know Tommy was even alive again). Neither was aware that they bowed their heads in unison, closed their eyes, and prayed together for someone, anyone, whatever god may or may not be listening, that they could go back. That they could try again, do something different, fix things. Fix this.

They weren’t expecting god to listen.

Tubbo felt himself fall forward off of the bench, but when his body hit the ground, he hovered, incorporeal, where he’d been sitting the moment before. He stared down in shock, but didn’t have much time to process what happened as his surroundings faded to white.

_ Am I dead? _

Soft laughter filled his mind.  _ No, this is not death, _ the voice in his head said. Tubbo turned to try to locate it but saw something different.

He saw the translucent form of Tommy sitting, arms wrapped around his knees, staring up at him.

“Tubbo?” He couldn’t believe it. Tubbo was right there in front of him. Tubbo was there. He was going to be saved.

Tubbo let out a small gasp and shook his head slightly. “Wh- no, what? T- you- this isn’t real.”

Tommy stood up, his glowing form looking frantic as he reached out for Tubbo. Tommy’s hands met Tubbo’s arms, clinging on tight.

It sure felt real.

_ You asked to be saved, _ the voice said in both their minds.

Tubbo looked up to the sky. “What, so… so Tommy’s been alive this whole time?”

“No, I haven’t,” Tommy answered in a strange, tense tone, and Tubbo’s gaze snapped back to him. It was hard to tell with the lack of colors, but Tommy’s eyes did seem darker, and… were those white streaks in his hair? Not to mention the bags that were suddenly prominent beneath his eyes, and… bruises? “Dream killed me. Then he brought me back.”

Tubbo shook his head, not fully understanding what Tommy was saying.

_ I will return you to the past, _ the voice told them.  _ Back far enough that you will have a chance to prevent this future. _

Tommy looked around for the voice, now. “Wait, what do you mean? You- you’re sending us back in time? Time travel?! How far back are you sending us?!”

They received no verbal answer. Their minds started feeling hazy, and the ground (did it count as ground?) beneath them shifted suddenly, and color returned to the world.

They weren’t back to normal, though. The world slowly phased into reality around them, but they remained floaty and translucent.

Tommy recognized their surroundings first, and gasped. “Wh- L’manberg…?”

Tubbo’s eyes widened as he realized Tommy was right. They were back in L’manberg, specifically New L’manberg, at the height of the reconstruction. “What? Why here?”

Then the past versions of themselves came into view.

Tommy, clutching something brown tight in his hand. Tubbo, wearing an ever perfect president's suit.

Before them, Dream stood, shouting in rage, and although the Tommy and Tubbo from the future couldn’t hear what he had to say, they remembered with clarity.

_ “I don’t give a  _ fuck _ about Spirit!” _

Tubbo looked over at the spectral form of Tommy and didn’t miss the way his friend was trembling.

“Why here?” Tommy asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

_ This moment was the point in which your timeline became inevitable,  _ the voice said.  


Tubbo frowned. “Surely not. Surely there was something we could have done later on to fix things…?”

The scene played out, and after Dream was gone (with future Tommy visibly relaxing as Dream vanished), they watched as their past versions had an argument they couldn’t ever forget.

_ “So yeah, if the roles were reversed, you probably wouldn’t exile me, because I would have actually listened! And done what you said!” _

Future Tommy and Tubbo met each other’s gaze, and looked away.

They’d never really talked about this moment. So much more had happened that the argument had gone unresolved, and the emotions had never been addressed.

They watched as their past counterparts went their separate ways, speaking with other members of the party before ultimately, Tommy returned to his home, and Tubbo left to sleep in the Camarvan.

And time slowed until it stood still.

_ This is the point you will return to. _

Tommy felt cold dread course through his veins. “No. Not here, not this point in time.”

Tubbo agreed. It was not a point he wanted to revisit.

_ You must. Once, in the past, you spoke of what you believed you would do if your roles were reversed, yes? _

“Y-yeah?” Tubbo answered hesitantly.

_ Now it is your chance to discover if your arguments were true. _

The entire world went dark, and the pair felt dizzy as reality became a lot heavier. The world felt solid again for a brief second, and then the world was gone.

In a dirt hut and a drug van, two teenagers with significantly less scars than they'd had before fell unconscious in unison.


	2. Part 1: The Decision (Chapter 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Tubbo wake up, and things are different than they're supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this the same day as the prologue because I didn't want to just leave the prologue, it's short. This actually sets up the story a little more.

Tommy woke up gasping.

It felt the same as it had felt when Dream had revived him. He clutched at his chest, feeling his clothes, feeling how real everything felt, and he knew he was alive, but it felt  _ wrong _ . Something was off. He rubbed his eyes, flinching in the bright light of the lamps, and allowed his vision to adjust.

Upon looking around, he realized that he was in the Camarvan.

_ Why here? _ He thought. He’d expected to be at his home (his home!) but he’d appeared here instead. And where was Tubbo?

He let out a tired groan as he tried to wake up, and froze.

_ That wasn’t his voice. _

He looked down at his hands, and  _ they weren’t his hands. _ They were littered in scars he’d never had, and missing some he was supposed to even if he was in the past (because that’s where he was, right? The Camarvan was gone). No, these were someone else’s hands. And someone else’s voice. And someone else’s clothes-

Wait.

The clothes.

He was wearing a suit. A  _ nice _ suit. The closest thing to a suit like this he owned was his business suit for “slightly unethical business deals”, and that had been cheap. This suit was far nicer, suitable for a president.

Which made sense, because it was  _ Tubbo’s suit. _

He was wearing Tubbo’s clothes.

“What the- H?!”

He’d just spoken. With Tubbo’s voice. He’d just spoken and Tubbo’s voice had come out.

Hesitantly, he reached up, and… holy shit, those were horns on his head. Smaller than Tommy was expecting, but… he was in the past, right? Maybe? It made sense that they’d be smaller-

Wait, no, it doesn’t make sense! None of this made any fucking sense! Where was he? How was he in Tubbo’s body? Where was the real Tubbo?! There was no way this was real. He- he’d just been too stressed out about trying to sleep with  _ Dream _ right there after everything that he’d started hallucinating.

Right?

This couldn’t be real.

_ Do you want it to be fake, though? _ His mind asked, and he knew the answer. Even if it was fake, he didn’t want it to be.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, feeling weird, like he couldn’t fill his lungs properly. Or, Tubbo’s lungs? What was even happening?

He got to his feet and  _ whoa _ , everything was taller. No, wait, he was shorter. He was in Tubbo’s body, apparently. Everything was a  _ lot _ shorter.

The Camarvan…

Tommy didn’t take long looking around. He… he missed it, but after experiencing the afterlife with Wilbur, he didn’t want to spend so much time remembering those days. The Camarvan had been gone for a long time to him. He didn’t need to grieve over it more.

Cautiously stepping outside, he was met almost immediately by Big Q.

“So have you thought any more about the Exile?”

Tommy was so disoriented, he barely registered what Quackity had said. “W-what? Exile?” he asked in the voice that wasn’t his.

“Yeah. Look, I know you’re in a tough position, but we need to figure something out. We don’t want to exile Tommy but we can’t let Dream get what he wants, either. So, what’s your plan?”

Tommy’s head was spinning, trying to process what was going on. Everything was so bright and loud and  _ spacious _ , holy shit, he wasn’t in the prison anymore and there’s so much  _ room _ \- “I, uh, what?”

Quackity sighed. “Look, Tubbo, I’ll follow your lead, but you gotta have something for me to work with here. You said you’d have a plan.”

“Tubbo…?” Tommy said to himself quietly.  _ He thinks I’m Tubbo. He thinks I’m planning on exiling… myself? _ “Uh, I don’t know what I’m going to do…” he said louder, to Quackity, not really knowing what he should say. “Uh…”

Quackity placed a hand on Tommy’s (Tubbo’s? Tommy’s borrowed?) shoulder, and Tommy flinched away so violently that Quackity jumped back in shock.

“Uh, Tubb-”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!”

Big Q’s face was pure shock. He held his hands up slowly in surrender. “Okay, uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you were that, uh, jumpy.”

“I- I’m sorry, I’m just stressed.” That wasn’t a lie, either. Tommy was stressed out of his mind.

Quackity nodded. “I understand. Hey, you probably just woke up, it’s not fair for me to expect you to have a plan so early.”

Tommy nodded. “Y-yeah. I’m, y’know, still… still working on it.”

“Okay. Well, come see me in like an hour or so when you’re more awake, okay? I’ll make sure Fundy’s there, too.”

“Uh, okay,” Tommy answered eloquently, and  _ fuck _ the sunlight was bright. He found himself wincing, his head hurting, but as he watched Quackity walk away, he knew he didn’t have time to focus on that. He didn’t have time to adjust to being outside of either the prison or the afterlife. He needed to find Tubbo.

Maybe Tubbo was in his past body?

It made sense, Tommy thought. So he headed to his home.

* * *

Tubbo was awoken by himself.

Actually, it turned out to be Tommy, just inside of his body, as his friend had quickly informed him. And Tubbo was inside of Tommy’s body. Which explained one thing and produced about a billion more questions.

It also didn’t make the fact that his own face was the first thing he saw after whatever weird time travel thing had happened any less unnerving.

Staring back at his own scarred face as Tommy rambled about what Quackity had told him, he realized he wasn’t processing anything that was being said. He rubbed his eyes (and wasn’t that weird, Tommy’s hands were more steady than his) and interrupted Tommy. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on. I’m not awake yet.”

“We don’t have time for you to wake up, Tubbo! I’m in your body!”

“Yeah, and you’re in mine! This is weird!”

Tommy started shaking and half-collapsed onto his bed, next to Tubbo. His breathing was fast and labored, and he ended up coughing hard.

It was then that Tubbo realized that he could breathe more easily in Tommy’s body.

Shit, Tommy was having a panic attack, and he had Tubbo’s shitty asthma to deal with, too. “Tommy? Hey, you’re gonna be okay, man. You- it’s gonna be fine, okay? Breathe, Tommy. You gotta take a deep breath.”

Tommy inhaled shakily and looked up at Tubbo. “Fuck, it still feels like I’m back there…”

“Prison?” Tubbo asked, and he realized he had no idea what Tommy had been through.

He nodded. “Yeah, and… uh, yeah. Prison.”

Tubbo opened his mouth to ask about that, because Tommy’s answer had sounded weird, and not just because it was with his voice. But before he got the chance to ask, the door to Tommy’s house was opened.

In the doorway stood Quackity and Fundy, with Ranboo behind them. Wait, shit, Ranboo. Ranboo didn’t really know Tommy or Tubbo at this point, did he?

Tubbo kept his gaze on Ranboo, then remembered about his (ex?) husband’s discomfort under eye contact and looked away to find Quackity looking at him weird. “Uh, can we come in?”

The question was directed at Tubbo, and his instinct was to look over at Tommy and ask if they could enter, it was his house after all. But then he remembered, he was in Tommy’s body. Of course Quackity was asking him. “Uh, yeah, come on in,” he invited, trying to make sure he got Tommy’s voice right. Their accents were somewhat different, afterall.

This, however, earned a hastily whispered comment from Tommy, who was still bordering on a panic attack. “Don’t talk like that, you sound weird. If you try too hard they’re gonna know something’s up.”

Tubbo nodded slightly to acknowledge that he heard. Quackity and Fundy entered, closing the door behind them, and Ranboo remained outside. Tubbo rose to his feet and was disoriented, realizing he was taller than he was supposed to be now that he was in Tommy’s body.

Quackity looked between them. “So, what’s the plan? I, uh, I’m guessing you guys were planning, right?”

Tubbo met  his own Tommy’s eyes before looking back at Quackity. “Uh…”

Tommy cleared his throat. “Yeah, we came up with a plan. No one’s getting exiled.”

Tubbo’s head snapped back to look at Tommy, but his friend kept his gaze on Quackity. Was that what was being discussed? He was in Tommy’s body, and the Spirit incident had just happened… wait, was he going to get exiled?

Well, maybe he wouldn’t. Tommy seemed to be against that plan.

“Look, we aren’t going to exile, uh, Tommy, okay?” Tommy said defensively, and Quackity and Fundy looked at him, puzzled. 

Fundy spoke up. “Okay, we agree with you. No one should be exiled. But… what are we going to do about Dream, then?”

What had happened the first time? Tubbo tried to remember… what had Tommy proposed? Getting Techno’s help? Yeah, that was never going to work. What other options did they have?

“You could always fake-exile me,” Tubbo offered, and watched as Quackity considered that.

“Okay, would you really be okay with that?” Fundy asked, and before Tubbo could respond, Quackity cut in.

“And also, Dream is still winning that way. He’s still being shown that he has control over us.

Tubbo noticed Tommy’s shaky breaths. Tommy was terrified of Dream; this whole situation must be hell for him. But his friend spoke up anyway. “No, that- we aren’t exiling him, even if it’s pretend.”

“Why not?” Tubbo challenged, because he didn’t see Tommy’s logic. 

“Because-”

Tubbo gazed into his own eyes, eyes full of emotion belonging to his best friend. Eyes full of fear and panic and things Tubbo realized in that moment he would never understand.

Tommy had been through hell with Dream, and in exile, and Tubbo… he didn’t know the specifics because Tommy hadn’t told him, and Tubbo hadn’t pushed for him to. But Tommy was so deeply traumatized by what he’d experienced that the thought of even staging an exile was out of the question. Tommy, Tubbo realized, didn’t want him to go through the same thing Tommy had experienced.

Tubbo sighed, and looked at Quackity and Fundy. “Can I speak to… Tubbo privately for a moment? We’ll come meet you in L’manberg.”

Fundy and Quackity exchanged a look that contained a silent conversation, but nodded, leaving Tommy’s house to provide them with some space.

When the door closed, Tommy was speaking immediately. “Tubbo, you can’t go through that. Even if it’s not-  _ fuck! _ Even if it’s not as bad, or it’s temporary, or whatever, you  _ cannot go through that _ .”

“Tommy, we might not have a choice.”

Tommy was shaking his head, though. “No. We aren’t doing this.”

Tubbo sighed. He didn’t think he’d be able to argue with Tommy like this. They were both still disoriented; it had been less than an hour since they’d woken up in each other’s bodies, reliving a past they’d rather forget about.

They should probably discuss the whole swapping bodies thing.

“Are we going to play along? Act like we’re each other?” Tubbo asked.

Tommy paused to contemplate. “We have to, don’t we? If we try to tell them we’re from the future and we’re actually each other, they’ll think we’ve gone insane!”

Tubbo had been worried about that, but knowing that Tommy felt the same solidified it: they couldn’t tell anyone. 

“We need a game plan.”

Tommy laughed, looking at Tubbo disbelieving. “What kind of plan, Tubbo?! What are we supposed to do about this?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well, I’m open to ideas, because I don’t have any!  _ FUCK! _ ”

Tommy’s outburst had startled Tubbo and he took a step away. He watched as his own face changed into a look of pure terror. “No, I’m sorry, I’m sorry Tubbo, I didn’t mean to yell at you, please don’t be upset with me, I’m sorry-”

“Wh- upset with you? I’m not upset, I’m just  _ scared _ . What… what happened to you, Tommy?”

Tommy released a shaky breath. “I-  _ fuck _ , Tubbo, so much happened to me. So much. But…” He looked around the room. His house. It was different than its most recent iteration, as it had gone through a few destructions since Tommy’s exile in the future, so it felt strange to see it like this again. Probably even more so for Tommy. “Tubbo, I don’t have time to tell you now. Look, we… we’re not letting anyone get exiled, okay? And once we deal with Dream, we’ll talk, you and me. Okay?”

Tubbo sighed. “Tommy, I want you to consider this, right?”

“Absolutely not-”

“What do you think Dream’s going to do when you announce you won’t exile me, huh?” Tubbo pushed. “He’s gonna turn on you, on L’manberg, and people are going to get hurt!”

Tommy shook his head. “We aren’t going to let that happen.”

“How? Look at us!” Tubbo spread his/Tommy’s arms. “We don’t have anything to defend ourselves with.”

“We’ll gather resources.”

“We don’t have time. Dream wants me exiled by tomorrow. Well,” Tubbo added, “he actually wants  _ you _ exiled by tomorrow. But he doesn’t have to know that it will actually be me. Wait!” Tubbo’s eyes went wide. “Wait, that’s a great plan, actually! He’s gonna think I’m  _ you _ , and I’ll go into exile with him, but none of the things he tries to do to me will work because I’m not you!”

Tommy was shaking his head. “No. No, Tubbo, you don’t understand.  _ He’ll find a way to hurt you still. _ ”

“But I’ll know that he’s doing it!”

“You think I didn’t know he was doing it in prison?! You think I didn’t know he was doing it when he led us both out into the  _ middle of fucking nowhere _ and nearly killed you?! It won’t matter! Trust me!”

Tubbo sighed. He wanted to comfort Tommy, give him time to talk about everything he went through and help him, but Tommy was right. They didn’t have time. “Even if he does hurt me, it’s the same equation as before.”

“What?”

Tubbo closed his eyes. “The choice is between my safety and L’manberg’s safety. If exile is necessary for the greater good of the nation and the people living there, that’s the choice that must be made.”

“… _ What. _ ”

Tubbo was startled by Tommy’s suddenly sinister tone. The hostile look was so out of place on his own face, although Tubbo wasn’t sure he’d think any differently if Tommy had been in his own body. “Huh?”

“Take that back,” Tommy demanded, and Tubbo had no idea his voice could sound that way. He didn’t miss the way his own eyes shone with Tommy’s tears. “Take that back right the fuck now.”

“Wh- Tommy, I don’t understand-”

“ _ You’re telling me that if we hadn’t been swapped, you’d still exile me? For the  _ **_greater fucking good_ ** _? You- Tubbo, you’d put me through that hell again for- for  _ what?! You- you-”

The tears fell, and Tommy let out a sob and fell to his knees. Tubbo stared at him in shock, unsure of what to do. “No, I- of course I wouldn’t! Tommy,” he pleaded, and reached out, only for his hand to be slapped away.

“ _ Don’t fucking touch me! _ ”

Tubbo froze.

“ _ Don’t- just- get out. Go away! _ ”

He took one step back.

Another.

Tommy curled in on himself, crying hard enough that it shook his entire borrowed body. Tubbo didn’t know what to say.

He felt like he shouldn’t say anything, right now.

He’d messed up.

“…I’m sorry,” he told Tommy quietly. “I didn’t mean that.”

Tubbo turned to face the door, inhaled deeply, and exited his best friend’s house.

Time to go find the others, he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, Tubbo.
> 
> Please leave a comment! I would love to hear what people think so far.

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that Tubbo was pretty much just homeless for a good stretch of time but for things to work he had to be sleeping somewhere so the Camarvan it is! I feel like it would be a habit he picked up under the Schlatt administration because nobody would have really gone near the Camarvan since Schlatt had wanted to take it down (with Tubbo being the one to stop him), making it a good hiding place for him to relax during spying.


End file.
